Garment with attached belt



Oct. 23, 1962 A. R. JOHNSON GARMENT WITH ATTACHED BELT Filed Aug. 18, 1959 INVENTOR fikM/QENE Jb/wvso v United States Patent 3,059,240 GARMENT WITH ATTACHED BELT Armigene R. Johnson, 1880 Old Mill Road, Wan agh, N-Y, Filed Aug. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 834,591 6 Claims. (Cl. 2.-76)

This invention relates to garments and more particularly to a new and improved attached belt for garments that is adjustable relative to the garment for accommodating persons of different heights without the need for garment alteration.

The invention has as one of its objects the provision of a novel and improved belt and means for attaching it to a garment to facilitate the vertical adjustment of the belt while presenting the appearance of a conventional belt. Through a new and improved construction and organization of elements according to this invention, the belt when permanently secured to the garment and held snug about the body of the wearer in a selected vertical position will remain in the selected position. 7

Still another object of the invention resides in a novel and improved belt permanently secured to a garment and which, when in the adjusted position about the body of the wearer, .aiiords the appearance of a conventi nal nattached belt.

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings forming part of i this application.

In the drawings: F GU E 1 illu tra e an elev ti nal vi w .o the garment in accordance with the invention and with the belt in position about the wearer;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a fragmentary part of the garment showing the belt and its attachment to the garment before engagement of the belt about the waist of the wearer;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the development of the central section of the garment to illustrate the improved belt construction and attachment in accordance FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 6 taken along the line 77 thereof.

The improved belt in accordance with the invention is particularly useful in connection with uniforms such as dresses and the like, and affords means for shifting the position of the waistline of the garment to accommodate figures of different heights. In the past shifting of the belt position to provide for vertical adjustment has genera'lly been accomplished by the utilization of spaced buttons or other fastening means so that the belt could be fixed in a selected vertical position. These prior constructions are expensive to fabricate because of the need for a plurality of fastening means and in many instances the lack of experience of the wearer in fitting a garment and the added problem of maintenance have made them unsatisfactory.

This invention alfords an improved belt structure wherein the belt is fixedly attached to the garment and secured in the selected position about the waist of the wearer after the garment is donned. Since the wearer can quickly and easily shift the belt position while Wearing the garment the most attractive and comfortable belt position can be ice v selected for the individual wearer. Moreover when the belt is secured about the wearer there is no discernible evidence of the attaching means holding the belt to the garment, nor that the belt is adjustable relative to the garment.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the garment 10 is provided with a belt 11 which in the illustrated embodiment of the invention is adapted to be tied about the wearer, as indi cated at 12, though it will become apparent that the ends of the belt can be secured in any desired manner as, for instance, by the use of conventional buttons, snaps, buckles or other similar devices. The belt is illustrated in the uppermost position, and in cases where the wearer has a longer waistline, the belt can be adjusted to the lowered position so that the garment will fit properly.

FIGURE 2 shows a fragmentary section of the garment prior to joining the ends of the belt 11, the garment, in

the instant illustration, being in the form of a coat dress having a front opening. The front of the dress is closed by securing the edges 13 and 14 in overlapping relationship and securing them .one to the other by means of the snaps 15 or other suitable fastening means.

The belt 11 is fixedly attached to the waistline of the dress by a strip or web .of material 16 which has .one long edge attached to the belt and the other edge secured to the dress, In the instant embodiment of the invention, one edge of the strip 16 is sewn in the waistline seam 17 and extends throughout substantially the entire length of the waistline except for a short front section to facilitate tying of the belt and avoid interference with closing of the front of the garment. In actual practice, the web 16 extends to within 3 to 6 inches of the edges 13 and 14 of the garment so that the belt is firmly attached to the garment throughout substantially its entire length.

The attachment of the web 16 to the belt 11 and garment 10 is illustrated more clearly in FIGURES 3 through 7. The belt 11 may be formed of double p'ly material with the longitudinal edges of the material being sewn together as indicated at 18 to form a so-called inside seam and one edge of the web 16 is sewn into this scam to form an integral unit comprising the belt 11 and the web 16. The other longitudinal edge of the web 16 is sewn nto the wais line seam as indi ated at a m y bemore clearly observed in FIGURE 5. In this figure the lower portion of the garment 10a represents a fragmentary section of the skirt or lower garment part while the section denoted by the numeral 10b denotes a fragmentary portion of the blouse or upper garment part.

FIGURE 3 shows a development of the waistline portion of the garment and it will be observed that the web 16 extends substantially throughout the entire waist line. It is terminated at points spaced from the edges of the garment 13 and 14 to provide ample space for tying the belt. While the belt 11 may have any desired width, it is important that the web 16 have a width not exceeding half the width of the belt so that the belt, when in the raised or lowered positions, will completely cover the web 16 as well as the waist seam 17.

The adjustment of the belt to raise or lower the waist line is illustrated more clearly in FIGURES 4 through 7. In FIGURE 4, it will be observed that the belt 11 is in the upper portion with the web 16 underlying the lower portion of the belt and the lower edge 11 of the belt extending below the Waist seam 17 FIGURE 5 shows the disposition of the elements in cross section and it will be observed that when the belt is tied snugly about the waist, the web 16 will be held securely in position and flat against the garment so that it affords support for the belt and holds it in the adjusted position throughout its entire periphery.

The lower position of the belt 11 is shown in FIGURES position about the wearer and afford support for the belt and securely hold it in the selected upper or lower position.

While the garment and belt have been described in connection with a ladies garment such as a coat dress or the like, it is apparent that the same structure may be applied to other types of garments such as slacks, skirts and blouses embodying waist belts.

The advantages of this novel and improved belt construction may also be realized when it is fabricated of materials other than conventional woven or other fibrous cloths. For instance, the belt and web could be fabricated of a plastic material and still afford the advantages of the invention; namely, ready adjustability and retention of the belt in adjusted position.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is apparent that alterations,

changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the true scope and spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a garment having a waist portion, an elongated belt adapted to be secured about the waist of the wearer, a web of flexible material having a length less than that of the belt and means securing one elongated edge of the web along its length to one side of the belt, the other elongated edge of the web being secured along its length to the waist of the garment whereby the belt can be secured about the wearer in a selected vertical position relative to the garment.

2. In a garment having a waist portion, an elongated belt adapted to be secured about the waist of the wearer, a web of flexible material having a length less than that of the belt and means securing one elongated edge of the web to said belt along a longitudinal line disposed centrally of one side surface thereof, the other elongated edge of said web being secured along its length to the waist of the garment, the elfective width of the web when secured to the garment not exceeding one half the width of the belt.

3. The combination with a garment having a waist portion, of a belt adapted to be secured about the waist of the wearer when the garment is worn, said belt comprising an elongated member of flexible material, and an elongated web of flexible material having one elongated edge attached to the belt along a central longitudinal line on one side surface thereof and the other elongated edge secured to the waist portion of the garment.

4. The combination with a garment having 21 waist portion of a belt adapted to be secured about the wearer and overlying the waist portion of the garment, said belt comprising an elongated belt member adapted to encircle and lie flat against the garment when in the worn position, an elongated web of flexible material having a length not greater than that of said elongated belt member and means securing one elongated edge of the web to one side of said belt and along a central longitludinal line on the surface thereof the other elongated edge of the web being secured about the waist position of said garment, the width of the web between the belt and the garment not exceeding one half the width of the belt.

5. In a garment having 21 waist portion, an elongated belt adapted to be secured about the waist of the wearer, said belt comprising a strip of material folded upon itself along longitudinal lines with the longitudinal edges of the strip meeting along a line midway between said folds, an elongated web of flexible material, means securing the longitudinal meeting edges of the strip one to the other with an elongated edge of the web disposed therebetween and means securing the other elongated edge of the web about the waist portion of the garment to secure the belt firmly to the garment, the web having a width not exceeding one half the width of the belt and lying flat beneath the belt when the latter is in position about the wearer.

6. In a garment according to claim 5 wherein said garment has blouse and skirt portions sewn one to the other about the waist and said other elongated edge of the web extends between the meeting edges of said blouse and skirt portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,204,719 Van Heusen Nov. 14, 1916 2,096,206 Steiner Oct. 19, 1937 2,242,365 Muhr May 20, 1941 2,303,974 Baeder Dec. 1, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 445,381 Great Britain Apr. 8, 1936 

